British Togoland Movement: an Offshoot of Historical Creations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Faculty of Humanities, and Social Sciences and Education BRITISH TOGOLAND MOVEMENT: AN OFFSHOOT OF HISTORICAL CREATIONS Agbessi Laglo SVF-3901 Master’s Thesis in Peace and Conflict Transformation … May 2019 DEDICATION To my wife: For your untiring care and support. To my beautiful daughter: For always putting smile in my face To my mother, brother and sister: For sacrificing everything you cherish for my success To all peace lovers: For your endless fight for what the world needs most …you all deserve a big thank you! i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Christine Smith-Simonson for her guidance throughout this study. Her patience for me in difficult times made me believe that there is always a chance to do better. Her advice and suggestions helped me build self- confidence and kept me in a better position to see through issues regarding this study. My gratitude equally goes to the entire staff of Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at University of Tromso for preparing me academically to embark on this research journey. Their purpose- oriented academic curriculum and excellent delivery made CPS a Centre of excellence and cannot go unnoticed. Their contribution to my success goes beyond the academic field. They gave us (students) the feel of what happens beyond the walls of the Institution by organizing seminars, conferences and trips which have exposed us to the global world. Finally, I wish to thank my family especially my wife, daughter, mother brother and sister for their support and care. To you all my friends and course mates, I am honored for having you in my life. ii ABSTRACT This thesis is an inquiry into the political evolution of British Togoland to identify factors that have contributed to the emergence of British Togoland Movement as well as those factors which continue to foil and sustain it from 1916 till now. The study focuses on colonial activities in Eweland from 1886 to the independence of Ghana in 1956 and how these activities continue to influence opinions among Ewe people. Eweland was first divided between the Gold Coast, a British colony and Togoland under German rule. However, this division did not create much attention at the time. After the defeat of Germany in World War 1, German Togoland was divided between France and Britain and put under the respective administrative authorities of Dahomey and Gold Coast. This arrangement further divided Eweland and became source of agitations among ewes led by Ewe Unification Movement which aimed to unite Ewelands under one administrative authority. Ewe Unification Movement dies off when British Togoland formerly became an administrative region of independence Ghana in 1957. The post-independence period of Ghana also continues to witness periodic agitations and protests led by British Togoland Movement which comprises other smaller movements for the restoration of British Togoland as an independent state. The latest agitations by street demonstration took place in 2018 and some of the protesters were arrested by the security agencies. Data was collected by triangulating three data sources namely: interview, archive documents and observation of a specific Facebook platform. To identify the foiling factors of these agitations, the objective and demands of the movement, and the impact of the movement on Ewe people, study used three school of thoughts namely: post-colonial theory, deprived actor (grievances) theory and rational actor (opportunity) theory to explain occurrences of event and actions taken thereof in the context of British Togoland Movement. This led to arriving at findings which would inform stakeholders to find everlasting solution to a problem the study considers to be an offshoot of historical creations. Findings from the study indicate that the decision leading to the union between British Togoland and Cold Coast and how it was implemented continue to be the major foiling factor; the British Togoland Movement’s major demand is the restoration of British Togoland as independent state; the emergence of the movement has contributed to the development of a new ethnic sentiment among Ewe people than before, creating a situation of ‘Us’ against ‘Them’ between Ewe people and other ethnic groups. iii BRITISH TOGOLAND MOVEMENT: AN OFFSHOOT OF HISTORICAL CREATIONS iv ABREVIATIONS UN: United Nations AU: African Union PNDC: Provisional National Defense Council HSGF: Homeland Study Group Foundation EUM: Ewe Unification Movement NDC: National Democratic Congress NPP: New Patriotic Party CPP: Convention People’s Party PNDCL: Provisional National Defense Council Law ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States UNLO: United Nations Legal Office EU: European Union UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UNGA: United Nations General Assembly v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map of German Togoland 2. Map of British Togoland and French Togoland 3. Map of Cold Coast and British Togoland 1922 - 1950 4. Map of Ghana 1960 with British Togoland completely integrated 5. Map of Ghana 2018 with proposed Oti region and others vi Figure 1: Map of German Togoland Copied from: howlingpixel.com vii Figure 2: Map of British Togoland and French Togoland Copied from: cambridge.org viii Figure 3: Map of Cold Coast and British Togoland 1922 -1950 Copied from: Kedem, K. (2005). ix Figure 4: Map of Ghana 1960 with British Togoland completely integrated Copied from: pinterest.es x Figure 5: Map of Ghana 2018 with proposed Oti region and others Copied from: adomonline.com xi TABLE OF CONTENT DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iii BRITISH TOGOLAND MOVEMENT: AN OFFSHOOT OF HISTORICAL CREATIONS iv ABREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. vi Figure 1: Map of German Togoland ........................................................................................ vii Figure 2: Map of British Togoland and French Togoland ..................................................... viii Figure 3: Map of Cold Coast and British Togoland 1922 -1950 .............................................. ix Figure 4: Map of Ghana 1960 with British Togoland completely integrated ............................ x Figure 5: Map of Ghana 2018 with proposed Oti region and others ........................................ xi CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 1. Introduction to the study area ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 The socio-political evolution of British Togoland ........................................................... 2 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Research Questions and Objectives ................................................................................. 6 1.4 Chapter Outlet .................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ........................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Post-colonial theory ......................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Deprived actor (grievances) theory ................................................................................ 15 2.4 Rational actor (opportunity) Theory .............................................................................. 17 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 20 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Method: Triangulation ................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 Defining the principle of triangulation ................................................................... 20 3.2.2 Understanding the terms: credibility, validity and reliability ................................. 21 3.2.3 Towards the understanding of the philosophical position ...................................... 24 3.2.4 Data collection ........................................................................................................ 25 3.3 Challenges and limitations ......................................................................................... 32 xii 3.4 Positionality: Possibilities and